


A Meeting of the Seasons

by linables



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Guardian-Ward Relationship, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 05:26:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linables/pseuds/linables
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of those Jack/Jamie stories where Jamie becomes a guardian, because I'm a sappy romantic at heart and I want to give them the chance to be together forever. Includes character death, but this is cushioned by a large dose of cavity-inducing sweetness and a chapter of shameless smut. Enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A small smile played upon Jamie Bennett's lips as he suddenly found himself shivering. He placed his bookmark down, closed the book he had been reading and turned to glance out his partially open window. He caught a glimpse of a pale, bare foot flitting upward past his window, and his smile grew wider. To any other person this might have been cause for alarm, but Jamie knew exactly who that foot belonged to - and this certain someone had never caused him to feel anything but excitement and joy.

The old springs in his bed creaked as Jamie rose, laying his book down on his comforter and making his way to his window. Opening it fully, he stuck his head out and immediately looked up toward the roof. There, a white-haired figured clad in a frosty blue sweatshirt and brown pants smiled down at him mischievously, having known he didn't even need to alert Jamie of his presence. The boy always knew when to look for him.

Technically he shouldn't have even been here - it was June, and the northern hemisphere didn't expect a visit from Jack Frost for maybe another five months. But for this person, Jack made an exception, as he always did. He had been spreading his winter magic in Australia for the past several days and figured he owed himself a break, especially since he hadn't seem Jamie for a few weeks. He probably wouldn't do it for anyone else, considering how careful he had to be when he made these out-of-season visits. He had to do his best to suppress his powers so that no one in Burgess would raise alarm bells over frosty windows in what was supposed to be the dog days of summer. This involved not touching much, and melting off any ice he did create. But, he had decided quite a long time ago, it was worth it to see his favourite child more than once a year.

Though Jack supposed Jamie wasn't quite a child anymore. The boy had grown, as humans always do, and now stood almost as tall as Jack at seventeen years old. His chestnut hued mop of hair was slightly shaggier than in childhood, though not unkept, and his arms had developed a hint of lean muscle from taking up tennis in high school. On many occasions Jack had actually found himself thinking that Jamie had grown up to be quite good looking, and consequently caught himself looking his way for a few seconds longer than appropriate. He had always managed to somehow shush those thoughts and bury them away in the back of his head, but like villains, they tended to break free after some period of time regardless of how tightly their prison was locked.

Jack smiled at Jamie now and flew off of the roof, entering the boy's room through the window when he backed away from it. The second his feet touched the ground, Jack felt a pair of warm arms wrap around his torso and a head being laid on his chest. He wrapped his own arms around the giver of the hug, chuckling a bit at the eagerness with which it was given.

"I missed you." was heard, muffled by Jack's sweatshirt.

"I've only been gone for three weeks, kiddo. Am I that desirable?" Jack occasionally found himself slipping such jokes into his casual conversations with Jamie. Somehow it made him feel better, and neither seemed to mind.

Jamie giggled as he stood up straight, looking his guardian in the face once more. He answered Jack's joke with one of his own, quipping, "Well, it has been getting hot...it's nice to have someone close who can cool me down."

"Ah, is that all? I'm a personal air conditioner? I'm crushed, Jamie!" Jack said in a tone of mock surprise, the glint in his eye nevertheless befalling his true joking nature. They both laughed.

As Jamie picked up the book he had been reading and made his way to his large bookshelf to clear the space on his bed for them to sit, Jack followed him, quietly observing the boy's ever growing library. He was always impressed by how much Jamie read, and by how smart he was. But more than anything, he was touched by his first believer's never ending love of the mythical and legendary, and his unfaltering belief, which was evidenced by the number of books he owned on the subject. That, and of course the fact that he could still see and touch the winter spirit and the other guardians when he saw them.

"What's this one?" Jack inquired, reaching to grab a particularly old looking book off the shelf. The words "Myth and Folklore of the British Isles" stretched across the cover in peeling silver lettering.

"That's one I got from my grandma. It was hers as a little girl in Ireland. It's one of the first books that I ever had about myths and folklore, so I think it did a lot to get me so into them."

"Well I owe it a thank you then. It and your grandma." said Jack, flipping through the pages.

"Yeah, she was great." Jamie mused as he straightened out some other books. "She died a few years ago, but she was awesome to talk to about things like that."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jack said, placing a hand on Jamie's shoulder. The boy smiled, placing his own warm hand lightly over Jack's cold one.

"It's alright. She was sick, and it was just her time to go." His voice had taken on a bit of a melancholy, thoughtful tone. "All humans have to die at some time."

This touched something inside Jack, though he didn't let it show. Perhaps that was the reason he'd suppressed the thoughts he had about Jamie being attractive, and anything of the sort. It was time to be honest with himself. The thoughts he'd had pointed in one direction, and Jack knew what the feeling he was harbouring was. It was just such a can of worms to open up that he'd stowed it away, not wanting to think about it and cause himself grief.  
  
Jack knew that he was attracted to Jamie. He knew deep down that he even loved him. But what would come of it, even if the boy somehow happened to feel the same about him? Someday Jamie would grow old and die, and Jack would be alone again. Now, he would be delighted to just take what he could for as long as was possible, if Jamie wanted to give it, but even that was farfetched to Jack. He sometimes laughed at himself for thinking that the boy could return his feelings, considering it to be such a long shot that he shouldn't even wish for it. Now and again a hint of sadness would make an appearance on his features when he thought about this, but Jack had become rather good at keeping it hidden. Like he did now.  
  
Whatever thoughts both had been having were then interrupted by a quick knock and the door to Jamie's room opening. Jamie's nine year old little sister Sophie bounced into the room, all wild blonde locks, wide eyes and mischievous smile. Upon seeing Jack in the room her eyes lit up and she ran to hug him as her brother had, though Jack could have sworn Jamie squeezed a bit harder and hugged a little longer.

"Hi Jack!" she said. "I didn't know you'd be here!"

Jack chuckled and answered, "Well, I like surprises."

Sophie beamed at him and then turned to her brother.

"Jamie, Charlotte just got here. You said you'd drive us through the woods today to look at the flowers, remember? Can we go now?"

Jamie laughed softly and patted his little sister on the head. He knew she didn't like that, but it didn't seem to dampen her spirits.

"Sure, Soph," he said. "Just give me a second to get ready."

"Okay. Well come down when you're ready." She paused to turn to Jack and offer him a goodbye, then turned back to her brother and quipped, "Tell Jack he can visit whenever he wants, right Jamie?"

Sophie shot her brother a look, which he countered with a playful eye roll in attempts to cover up his blush. The girl then bounded out of the room and back downstairs, leaving Jamie to say goodbye to Jack himself.

"Sorry," he said, his regret obvious on his features. "But she's right, I did promise I'd drive her and her friend Charlotte around the woods nearby when she came over."

"No problem, kiddo," Jack said, patting Jamie's shoulder. "I'll come to see you again soon, I promise."

Jamie smiled, offering Jack another hug before the winter spirit waved his goodbye and flew out of the open window and disappeared into the sky.

When he was gone, Jamie walked to his desk on the other side of the room to gather up his wallet and car keys, and headed downstairs. As expected, Sophie and her friend Charlotte were quite literally waiting on the edges of their seats for their driver to come and start their trip. The girls burst through the front door and bounded towards the older boy's car as soon as they saw him, leaving Jamie to follow.  
  
Jamie didn't mind doing things like this every now and then. He liked sightseeing in the forest too, as the woods nearby were colourful and quite magnificent at this time of year. Because of that, and because of his birthday being in August, summer was Jamie's second favourite season. Winter, of course, was the only one he liked more.  
  
But he also knew that Sophie, and especially Charlotte, enjoyed spending time with him. Sophie had met Charlotte in school, and they'd formed a kinship based, among other things, on their family situations. Sophie and Jamie's parents had divorced a few years ago, and although it had been painful, they'd gotten through it with each other's help. And of course, they both had Jack as a friend, which had helped immensely as well.  
  
Charlotte lived with both of her parents, who were still together but hardly had any time to pay attention to their daughter. Sophie had been to her house, and had been sad to report that Charlotte's only real interactions with her parents were at mealtimes and when they checked her homework or said goodnight, which didn't happen every day at all. She also had no siblings, so she had no one at home to lean on. Sophie was a source of support for her, as was Jamie, since Charlotte had been vocal about always wanting an older brother. Over time, Jamie had indeed come to see Charlotte as another little sister.  
  
For these reasons he was willing to donate his time to taking the girls exploring, which he did every now and then, if he had the time and the gas money. So, turning off the hallway light and locking the front door of the house behind him, Jamie followed the excited young girls to his car, where they were already eagerly waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

Sophie and Charlotte beamed with glee as Jamie's old Toyota ascended a nearby mountain that was currently sprouting colour everywhere amongst the vast green. The trees were getting to be at their most robust, with leaves growing thick enough to block the sun when it slipped behind the tree line. 

Sophie had ridden through the woods at this time of year with her and Jamie's parents for as long as she could remember, but since they had split up their mother hardly had time to waste on such things. So last year when Jamie had gotten his license, Sophie had begged her brother to drive her down the same route their parents had taken. She hadn't really needed to beg, as Jamie found the summer excursions enjoyable as well. This year Charlotte had eagerly accepted Sophie's invitation to come along, and so they all found themselves driving down a narrow mountain road that warm summer day.

"Look at the violets!" Sophie exclaimed, pointing out the window at a patch of purple wildflowers growing by the side of the road.

Charlotte scrambled to peek out of the opposite backseat window. "Pretty!" she exclaimed, leaning over Sophie to get a good look. As Charlotte stretched over her to look out the window, Sophie noticed a little dark spot on Charlotte's cheek.

"Hey, Charlotte, you've got an eyelash, hang on." 

Charlotte held still and Sophie carefully grabbed the stray lash between her small fingers, presenting it to her friend on the tip of her index finger.

"Don't forget to make a wish!" said Jamie from the front seat, glancing at the girls through the rear view mirror and smiling.

Charlotte nodded, closing her eyes and mouthing something silently before blowing the lash off of Sophie's finger.

"I love eyelash wishes," the girl said, grinning. "Though it is kind of weird that eyelashes fall out." She thought for a moment, then piped back up. "And speaking of weird, Soph, why was there frost on some of your windows when we left the house? It's really warm out here!"

Sophie grinned like a miniature Cheshire Cat. "You want to take this one, bro?" she asked, staring at Jamie through the headrest of the driver's seat.

Sighing, Jamie relented, knowing Sophie was going to blab if he didn't.

"Well, uh, you see...you know Jack Frost, right?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Yeah, he comes during the winter though."

"Usually he does, yes. But, uh, sometimes he visits me out of season."

"Awesome! Why?"

"Well..." Jamie could feel a blush forming on his cheeks, and he attempted to curse it away, lest the girls see his face in the mirror.

Sophie took this opportunity to chime in. 

"My brother has a crush on Jack Frost! And I think he likes him too, that's why he always visits!"

"No way!" Charlotte yelped, face full of awe.

"She's right, Soph, no way does he like me," said Jamie from the front seat, though the words tasted sour coming out of his mouth, like he never wanted to acknowledge whether they were true or not.

"Well I think he does," said Sophie, undeterred. "But in any case, you have a crush on him, don't you?!?"

Jamie just sighed again, knowing he wasn't going to win this battle. Sophie knew. She was smarter than many people gave her credit for. Perhaps she didn't get As in math, but she certainly knew how to read people. Jamie should have figured that she would find out someday – after all, even Jamie caught himself staring at Jack for longer than necessary, or hugging even tighter than before. He'd even found himself following Jack's retreating airborne figure from his bedroom window sometimes, trying to figure out how in world he had overlooked how magnificently tight the guardian's brown pants were, and how amazingly they highlighted his behind.

He had begun feeling differently about Jack when he was about fifteen, though he suspected that the roots of his attraction had been planted years earlier. It had just grown from there, to the point that Jamie counted the days until Jack visited him again, and covered the margins of his notebook paper at school with drawings of Jack – Jack flying, Jack throwing snowballs, Jack sitting on his staff – anything Jack. Nobody had seen this (he hoped), but there was also a notebook at the bottom of one of his drawers at home with sketches of he and Jack – holding hands, smiling, kissing. These tended to appear on the days when he'd had a particularly good visit with Jack, or when the winter spirit hadn't visited for a couple of weeks and he was missing him badly. Sometimes Jamie was embarrassed at himself for acting the part of such a lovestruck fool, but try as he might the giddy flutter in his chest that made itself know whenever Jack came around never went away.

Jamie sighed and shot a look at Sophie through the rear view mirror, bringing the car up to a point where the road curved over a hill. He was just about to make a comment about how beautiful the oak trees up ahead were when a flash of brown and white entered the periphery of his vision, dashing across the road erratically. The next couple of seconds passed as if in slow motion, fragments strung together which each contained more information, more realizations, more panicked, knee jerk reactions that the human brain could keep up with. As soon as Jamie brain's registered the fact that a deer had leaped into the road, his hands had already jerked the steering wheel in an attempt to avoid it, and as soon as he managed to make an attempt to right the vehicle, the tires on the left side of the car had already left the ground.

In the future Jamie would say that he wasn't sure if he remembered hearing the girls' screams or not, or if the blood pounding in his ears had drowned it out. He would also say he didn't feel much pain, just a blunt force against his chest that momentarily knocked the wind out of him. Most victims of these circumstances might say the same, knowing that the moments in which an accident happens somehow seem to blur in one's mind to the point that they become almost as distant as a dream that escapes your memory in the morning.

The next coherent thought that passed through Jamie's mind was one that he could remember: are the girls okay!? He jerked up to look into the rear view mirror as the last dregs of his adrenaline wore off, and he saw two pairs of wide, round eyes, glassy and filled with shock but very much open and alive. Jamie drew in a deep breath, but upon releasing it he realized how badly the wreckage of the dashboard was pinning him in place. He carefully wiggled in his seat, feeling sharp jabs of torn metal, plastic and shattered glass from many directions. Willing his own condition to the back of his mind, Jamie took in the situation: the car was sitting diagonally on a patch of muddy ground some ten meters from the road, having tumbled down the cliffside and lodged itself into the mud, leaving much of the right side of the car pushed into the soft ground. 

"Sophie? Charlotte?" he breathed out, realizing that he must have sustained greater damage than he thought when the words hurt his chest. 

"Jamie?" came the soft, squeaky reply from the backseat. "Are you okay?"

"Never mind me for now, Soph, are you and Charlotte okay? Can you move?"

A rustling came from the backseat as Sophie undid her seatbelt, careful to grasp onto something to avoid falling to the right. Charlotte followed, but yelped in pain as she grabbed onto the passenger side seat's headrest. Sophie grabbed her friends shoulders to keep her from falling, eyes full of panic. 

"We're okay I guess, but I think Charlotte broke her arm or something!"

Jamie willed himself to take few deep breaths and took stock of the situation. The girls were alive, not rendered immobile and in their right minds. Charlotte would need a hospital, and Sophie might as well, but they were better off than he was. That was good. Jamie's mind was firmly set on getting the girls out of this alive, and if possible, once they were safe, getting him out too. 

"Okay," he said, forcing himself to stay calm. "Can you manage to get out of the car?"

Sophie pushed up the lock and jiggled the handle of the car door to no avail. She tried again, but the door was firmly sealed shut.

"The door's stuck!" she cried out, frantically jerking the handle.

"Stay calm, Soph!" Jamie pleaded. "Open the window all the way. Try to crawl out through there. You'll have to help Charlotte."

Sophie's trembling fingers pressed a button and the window opened, squeaking on its way down. She pushed herself out of the window, tumbling down over the rear tire. Gathering herself, she reached back into the car to pull Charlotte out, careful to avoid grabbing her injured arm. Charlotte's good hand grasped tightly to the back of Sophie's shirt, and she helped by pushing off with her feet, eventually falling through the window and onto the grassy patch of cliffside.

"Okay, we're out, Jamie!" Sophie said, rushing over to the front window, which was partially broken open. "Can we help you somehow? Please, Jamie!"

"Okay, okay, hold on." Jamie said, steadying himself. "Can you get the door open?"

Charlotte weaved her good arm in through the broken window, nudging the lock open, and both girls pulled on the door, which thankfully was able to be dragged open.

"Okay, good. Very good." said Jamie. His chest and stomach were hurting, but he willed himself to stay strong. Seeing him worry was the last thing the girls needed.

"Now, can one of you try to find the lever that moves the front seat back? It's down there near the bottom of the seat."

The girls both felt around the base of the driver's seat, the task made harder by the various bits of metal and rubber and whatever else that covered the area. Sophie's fingers finally brushed against a small lever.

"I got it!"

"Okay, when I say so, can you carefully – slowly – move the seat back?"

Sophie nodded frantically. Jamie took in as deep a breath as he could manage, and put his hands up on the wreckage of the dashboard. He nodded at Sophie to pull the lever.

She did, slowly as was asked though her hands itched to help her brother get out faster. Jamie hissed as the weight was lifted off of his chest and and an icy sensation throbbed somewhere around his stomach. He glanced down as the seat pushed back, giving him room. He quickly noticed a growing red spot seeping through his T– shirt, the wound not gushing blood but definitely in need of dressing. 

"You're bleeding!" Charlotte cried out, panicked, obviously having noticed the red spot as well.

"It's okay, Charlotte, it'll be okay!" Jamie insisted, slowly wiggling his legs and arms to make sure he wasn't trapped by anything else. Upon confirmation that he wasn't, Jamie turned to the girls again.

"Okay, can you grab onto my shoulders, and carefully try to pull me out? Charlotte, don't use your bad arm, I don't want you getting any more hurt."

Charlotte nodded quickly, though tears were beginning to streak her face. Sophie was having trouble holding back her tears as well, but she did as she was asked, grabbing onto her brother's shoulders and starting to pull him away from the car. Charlotte looped her good arm under one of Jamie's, helping her friend to bear the weight. With their combined efforts Jamie eventually found himself lying on the grass outside the car, which from the outside looked almost worse than it had from the inside. The front, at least, looked terrible, resembling a pile of scrap metal more than anything else.

Thinking quickly, Sophie bunched up the skirt she'd been wearing over her leggings and pressed it to Jamie's wound.

"Now what?" Charlotte pleaded, watching her friend work.

"Now," said Jamie, steadying his breathing, "We find help."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere above the South Pacific Ocean, Jack Frost felt a sudden piercing sensation in his chest. He didn't know what, but something somewhere was wrong. Something that concerned him. It took several moments for the feeling to crystallize into a coherent one, but when it did, Jack immediately knew where he needed to go. Turning abruptly in the air, he shouted at the winds to carry him Burgess as fast as possible.

He passed Jamie's house but somehow knew that that wasn't where he should stop. Indeed, the boy's car was missing from the garage, and the lights in his room weren't on. He had obviously already left with the girls to go driving through the forest. The forest! That was where he had to go. So, without a sliver of a second through, Jack propelled himself full speed towards the stretch of green bordering the town.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We have cell phones! We can call for help!" Charlotte said, expression a curious mix of panic and delight.

"Not here you can't," Jamie explained. "There – nnghh – there's not going to be any reception up this high on the mountain. You two are going to have to walk down toward the ranger's station, it's much lower and you might get reception there. It's only like a half of a mile."

"But we can't leave you here!" Sophie cried out, holding back sobs. "How about I go and Charlotte can stay here with you?"

"No, I don't want either of you walking around alone down a street. It's much safer for both of you to go. I'll be fine."

Sophie was about to make another argument against her brother's plan when they all caught sight of a flash of blue and brown in the sky. It approached them quickly, descending upon them in a blur of white hair and frosty fabric.

"Jack!" Sophie exclaimed. "Oh my god, Jack, we're so glad you're here! Jamie – "

One step ahead of the girl, Jack was already kneeling down in the grass and lifting Jamie's head into his lap, bending down to cradle the boy in a tender embrace. 

"Jamie, talk to me kiddo. Please!" he said, a obvious ripple of fright in his voice.

"Jack..." Jamie whispered. "How did you know...?"

"I just knew. I felt it. I knew you were in trouble. That's why I came back. Argentina won't be getting any snow today but I couldn't care less, Jamie, are you gonna be okay? Have you called for help?"

"Sophie and Charlotte were about to go walk to a lower altitude where they might get cell phone reception..."

"But we didn't want to leave him here!" Sophie cried, eyes pleading for Jack's understanding. Jack patted Sophie on the shoulder, managing a small smile.

"But I'm here now, I'll be with him. You go get help. Okay, Jamie?...Jamie?"

While Jack interacted with Sophie, the older Bennett sibling had fixated his gaze on the sky, a curious expression crossing his pained features. He heard his friends calling his name, but there was something else he needed to hear more. A sound was reaching his ears from the sky, a celestial sound, unlike anything Jamie had ever heard on Earth. A strange phenomenon occurred; the moon becoming as clear in the sky as at night. Jamie fixed his eyes on the orb, listening. Somehow he knew that the sound was coming from the moon. It was the voice of the Man in the Moon.  
He listened. Then he turned to Jack, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Racked by confusion, Jack stared imploringly at the boy, who only turned his eyes up towards the sky, asking for Jack to follow. He did, taking in the moon, and a slow wave of realization washed over the winter guardian.

"It'll be okay. Sophie, Charlotte, Jack...it'll be okay. I promise. The Moon...he told me so."

Eyes wide with both wonder and confusion, the girls turned their heads toward the sky, seeing the shining celestial orb twinkle before disappearing behind the clouds, growing fainter and fainter until it was nothing but a wisp of white in the blue sky. Sophie had heard all that Jamie could tell about the guardians and their relationship with the Man in the Moon, and she understood. Her understanding, and silent promise to pass everything on to Charlotte calmed the other girl as well. And Jack, knowing better than any of them what a message from the Man in the Moon meant, gave a melancholy smile as he stroked Jamie's hair, cold fingertips soothing against his warm scalp.

Within seconds of Jamie's chest growing still and his eyes drifting shut, something incredible began to happen. The orange long sleeved shirt the boy had been wearing morphed to green, the new colour flowing along the threads and weaving through the fabric. Vines and leaves, both oak and birch, decorated the shirt, creating an intricate pattern across the front. Jamie's jeans became more form fitting, turning into a lighter material and becoming a different shade of green. Even the skin beneath the clothes took on a slight greenish hue, somehow managing to not make the wearer look ill, only fantastical. But the most breathtaking addition of all was the crown of oak leaves that materialized onto his head, leaves jutting this way and that and framing a pair of short, gently curved horns.

When Jamie's eyelids parted, fluttering a few times before remaining open for good, they revealed irises as bright as emerald in place of the honey brown that the boy had been born with. Jamie could hear Sophie and Charlotte gasp and chatter in shock, delight, and probably a hundred other emotions that even they couldn't recognize, but the first thing that his senses took in was the smiling face of Jack above him. Jack's eyes held an underlying sorrow, yes, but the emotion taking the forefront was one of wonder and amazement. Jamie rose onto his knees in front of Jack, and could only hope that his own expression communicated the same thing.

"Jamie! Are you...are you like...a guardian now?!?" Sophie exclaimed, bouncing excitedly despite her aching muscles and scraped knees.

"I don't know..." Jamie said truthfully. "I'll have to find out, I guess. But the Man in the Moon wouldn't just make me immortal for nothing, would he?" 

Jack smiled wider, shaking his head slightly and holding Jamie close to him. 

"But first, there are more important things," Jamie said, glancing at Charlotte's arm. "Namely, getting you two out of here and to a hospital."

Jack, agreeing fully, pulled a snow globe out of his hoodie's pocket. North made sure that all the guardians kept at least one on them at all times, and now Jack was incredibly glad that he did. He handed the globe to Jamie, who whispered "Burgess Children's Hospital back parking lot" and threw the object. The artificial snow inside burst out into a glittering cloud, swirling and morphing into a spinning portal. All four hurried through, Jack and Jamie not worrying about being seen. 

Upon tumbling out of the portal, Jamie holding onto Charlotte to make sure she didn't fall on her hurt arm, the group stumbled to their feet and the boys pushed the girls onward toward the entrance. 

"What will we tell them?" Sophie asked.

"Tell the truth, say you were in a car crash. Let them know where if they ask. Tell them who was driving if you need to. But...say that I was the one who left to look for help, and I just never came back. There are cliffs and other dangerous places, it'll be believable. Then they won't be suspicious when they don't even find a body. But – " 

Sophie and Charlotte nodded, eager to hear whatever else Jamie had to say.

"But tell anyone who will believe – anyone – the truth. Including Mom and Dad. Help them believe. Then they might be able to see me again. I'll do everything I can to help as well."

Smiles of promise graced the faces of both girls as they ran to hug Jamie, Charlotte as well as she could with one arm.

"Jamie," said Charlotte shyly as she pulled away, looking up at the new eternal.

"Yes?"

"I, uh...well, thank you."

"For what?" 

"For...granting my wish of having a big brother. Please, can you come visit me some time?"

Heart swelling and his entire being filling with warmth at the girl's sweet words, Jamie pulled Charlotte in for another hug. 

"Of course," he said. "I will always, always come back, no matter how old you are, if you just keep believing. You too, Sophie. I love you. And even if I'm on the other side of the world, I promise I'll never really be far away. Now go on."

So with a last wave of goodbye, the girls hurried into the hospital, leaving Jamie in Jack's capable hands.


	3. Chapter 3

In a precariously perched building on a cliff in the North Pole, four guardians gathered around a pedestal which was emitting a blue light. They had gathered there again, called by the lights in the sky which North had set aglow. From an opening in the ceiling came a beam of moonlight which struck the pedestal and held the gazes of Nicholas St. North, E. Aster Bunnymund, Toothiana and Sanderson. One guardian was conspicuously absent, but if Man in the Moon thought it best to announce their new fellow right now, right now it would be.

The blue light from the podium stretched, morphed and formed itself into what was becoming recognizable as a human figure. Thin, not overly tall, clad in straight trousers and a long sleeved shirt bedecked with leaves and vines, and a mop of hair topped by two small horns and a thick wreath of oak leaves. North opened his mouth, perhaps to give the traditional name of this being, but was cut off by Bunnymund's surprised declaration of:

"Is that...Jamie Bennett?!"

"What? The child who was Jack's first believer over seven years ago?" chimed Tooth's equally surprised voice.

"Hmm. It would seem so," said North, taking in the young man's features. "How interesting! Now, where is frosty one? He must see this!"

Bunnymund chuckled.

"Well, mate, if Jamie's become a guardian, it's pretty easy to know where Jack is. He's with him."

North's deep belly laugh echoed through the room. 

"Of course he is. If is so, we must find both and bring them back here now!"

Within a second of this declaration, Sandy's eyes flashed up towards a high window, and an arrow crafted from golden sand immediately popped up over his head, pointing in the window's direction. Tooth saw this first, and turned her own head to look where Sandy was pointing. Seeing a blue and green speck on the horizon steadily growing larger, she smiled.

"No need," she said, gesturing towards the window with a colourful hand. "They're one step ahead of us!"

Indeed, within the next minute two figures arrived at the open window, one being carried by the other. Jack carefully dropped the green-clad figure into the room first before floating down himself, smiling and making sure he took stock of each of the other guardian's expressions.

"So," he said, looking up at the glowing blue figure radiating from the pedestal. "I see Manny's told you already who my esteemed guest is!" 

He put a hand on the shoulder of his companion, who was still taking in the vast, overwhelming expanse that was North's workshop, or at least the part of it he could see. Just this much was a flurry of stimulation to the senses, with the colours, smells, sounds and simply the feeling in the air.

"Wow..." said Jamie, voice laced with awe. "This is everything I dreamed it would be...and you guys!" He turned his attention to the four guardians standing before him. "I'm so happy to see you all again!"

"And we're so happy that you still can!" said Tooth, initiating a enthusiastic group hug, with all of the guardians wrapping their arms around the new member as best as they could.

When he was released, North clapped a large hand on Jamie's back. 

"Is good to see you too, boy! Truly! Though I never thought it would be here, like this. What happened, Jamie?"

Jack and Jamie told the entire tale, each other guardian listening intently, curiosity evident in their eyes. The story ended with Jack picking Jamie up outside the hospital after seeing Sophie and Charlotte off, and bringing him here. They had done a few practice runs to see if Jamie was able to fly on his own, and it looked like he very well might be able, but Jack wasn't taking any chances. He'd already technically lost Jamie once, and damn it, Jamie was not going to plummet hundreds of meters to the ground on his watch.

"So!" said North, after taking in the tale. "Did Man in Moon tell you who you have become, Jamie?"

"No," said Jamie, truthfully. "He just let me know that it was going to be okay. That I could let go. That's when I knew I really could."

"Hmm...well, I have hypothesis, if you would like to hear."

"Of course!"

"I believe you are...actually, is best that I show you instead. Come."

North led Jamie to a window on the other side of the room, where a candy cane striped planter box housed a variety of miniature trees, all currently devoid of leaves.

"These trees have trouble growing this year, though is summer. Too cold in North Pole. Could you do something for me?"

"What?" Jamie looked slightly confused, taking in the tiny leafless trees.

"Close eyes. Hold out hand, concentrate all your energy into hand."

Jamie did so.

"Now, open eyes and place fingertips on tree."

Jamie again followed North's instructions, and gasped at the result. From his fingers seemed to flow a waterfall of leaves, each tiny green sprouted bud becoming clear on the tree's branches as Jamie's hand whisked by. Excited, he brushed his fingertips against the branches of the next tree, but the leaves stopped appearing halfway through.

"Concentrate. Focus energy." North said, watching the boy work.

Jamie willed all his energy to pool into his hand and push out of his fingertips, and touched the tree again, this time succeeding in covering it with a thick coat of green as well. He laughed in delight and dressed the other trees in the planter box in their summer foliage too.

"This is amazing!" he cried, staring at his hands in awe. Jamie turned to look back at the other guardians, who also wore expressions of curiosity and wonder. Jack, who had come the closest to watch, beamed at Jamie, not able to hide how proud he was of his best friend.

"Indeed. You are surely what I thought." said North. "Spirit of all trees, flowers and summer foliage. You control coming of the plants and flowers in summer."

"So I'm like Green George!" Jamie replied, immediately remembering the spirit from his old book of British myths and folklore.

"I believe so," the father of Christmas replied. "But I think you need different name, no? Suggestions?"

"Yeah, I think that would be better. Green George went by many other names as well anyway." Jamie agreed, starting to think of what he could go by.

Soon several images flashed above Sandy's head, among them a tree in full foliage and a figure of man with a popped up collar*. Bunnymund nodded and turned to Jamie.

"Sandy says maybe we oughta keep it simple. He suggests 'Green James'."

Sandy smiled, happy to have been acknowledged and understood. 

"Well, no one really called me James, except for some adults – and even then only when I was in trouble. But I guess that could work, it's got a ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Green James, I like it." said Jack, grinning at Jamie. "But if it's okay, I might still call you Jamie. What do you think?"

Jamie could feel his cheeks heat up a bit and only wished that it wasn't too obvious to everyone else. Would his blush be green now? He hoped so, or it would stick out like a sore thumb. 

"Of course. You can all still call me Jamie if you want." But he couldn't help shooting a smile Jack's way, intending that particular smile to be only for him.

A comfortable moment of silent affirmations sealed the deal, then Tooth's voice rang through the room like a giddy, tinkering bell.

"Fantastic!! We have both winter and summer now! What a pair – it's a meeting of the seasons!"

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Sophie was released from the hospital that same day after her cuts and bruises were tended to, and Charlotte left the following morning with a cast on her arm. When the girls explained to the hospital staff – as per Jamie's instructions – that they had been in a car accident in the mountains and that the driver was missing after leaving to find help, a search party had been sent out to site of the wreck to try and find Jamie. Of course no body, living nor dead, was found, and Sophie clung tightly to her mother's hand as the news was delivered, attempting to somehow communicate through her touch that it was going to be alright in the end. At home, she tried to tell her mother the truth, knowing she deserved to know, whether or not she decided to believe it.

"Mom, I have to tell you something." she started, wringing her hands together nervously.

"Yes, Sophie...what is it?"

"Jamie...Jamie's not really gone!"

"What?"

"He's...well, I mean, he did die, but he's not gone! Not really!"

Sophie's mother knelt down and gathered her daughter into her arms, cradling her close as if she was much younger than her nine years.

"Honey, I know it's so hard to accept, because you loved your brother so much and you miss him–"

"No, I mean really! He's....well, he's...you wouldn't believe it..."

"What are you talking about, darling? Tell me."

Sophie bowed her head at first, but then willed herself to look her mother in the eyes.

"Jamie's a guardian now."

"A what?"

"A guardian. Like Santa Claus. And the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and Jack Frost."

"Oh, honey..."

"It's true! I promise it's true! He'll prove it to you too! Mommy, you can see him again if you just believe in the guardians!"

Sophie's mother looked at Sophie in silence for some time, studying the girl's features, blazing with firm belief and pleading for the other's understanding. Then she smiled, and cupped her daughter's cheek in her hand.

"Alright Sophie. You win."

Sophie returned her mother's smile – even though she wasn't entirely convinced that her mother believed – because one of these days, Sophie was certain she truly was going to.

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* A reference to James Dean in the classic film "Rebel Without A Cause". His character – actually named Jim/James as well – wears a red jacket with a popped up collar. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Jack smiled as looked down from the icy cliff he was sitting on to see Jamie walking back towards North's workshop with Bunnymund, having just returned from his first official day as Green James. Jack would have liked to accompany Jamie himself, but winter had been overdue in some places south of the equator. Besides, as much as he hated to admit that the rabbit was better at something than him, Jack knew that the Easter Bunny – who oversaw a spring holiday – knew more about greenery than he did. Jack was only used to covering bare tree branches with snow, not making them flower.

Judging by the delighted and slightly incredulous expression on Jamie's face, Jack assumed things had gone well. Not that he'd had any doubts that they would. That day Jamie had been tasked with making the flowers of the rowan trees on the Scandinavian peninsula begin to form into berries. Jack was fairly sure Jamie would find him soon, as the boy always did, and have stories to tell about his adventure. And, as if in cue, within five minutes of returning to the North Pole Jack heard the sound of feet approaching him and turned around to see the excited boy walking quickly towards him.

"Jack!" he called out, face breaking into a grin. "Look at this!"

Jamie's hand reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a twig, one with two neat rows of small leaves arranged on either side of a stalk, and a small cluster of green berries. He held it out to Jack once he had sat down next to the frost sprite, grinning from ear to ear.

"I did that. It's incredible! I just had to touch the flowers with my fingertips, concentrate my energy like North told me, and the flowers started collapsing on themselves into tiny little balls, which turned green and grew into these things. I've never been able to do something so awesome. I don't even know what to do with myself, seriously."

Jack chuckled and took the twig, twirling it around in his fingers. Predictably it started to ice over, but Jack handed it back to Jamie before the frost claimed the berries at the end.

"They look perfect." said Jack, truthfully. "You're doing great. And believe me, I know what you mean, you should have seen me freaking out and touching everything with my staff the first day I became Jack Frost."

Jamie laughed as well, slipping the twig back into his pocket. 

"Thanks. Actually, I may have gotten a little too excited...Bunny kept telling me to take it easy, but I couldn't stop myself. I think every rowan tree south of Rovaniemi* has berries on it now!"

Jamie stopped for think for a second, then burst into another animated display.

"Oh! And look what I else I figured out today!"

The summer guardian stood up and ran several meters away, then launched himself into the air and did a graceful layout before floating back towards Jack and onto the ground.

"Good job!" said Jack, happy that Jamie was learning the finer points of the great joy that was flying.

"Thanks!" said the boy as he descended back to earth and into a sitting position. He took a deep breath to relax, closing his eyes for a moment before turning to Jack.

"So – enough about me. What did you do today?"

"Nothing too crazy. Just brought some snow to South Africa." 

"I didn't know South Africa got snow!"

"In the mountains they do. Plus I sent a few flurries to the Northern Cape."

"Pretty cool. I'm going to have fun exploring the southern hemisphere when it's summer over there. I've never been anywhere on that side of the world." Jamie's eyes glowed with excitement. Jack smiled, remembering the feeling of exhilaration that exploring the faraway corners of the world for the first time had brought him so many years ago.

"The world is pretty damn amazing, I gotta admit." he said. "Maybe when fall comes around and we both have some time off, I'll show you some of my favourite places."

Jamie nodded vigorously, obviously over the moon about the idea. Seeing the world – with Jack – what could be better?

They talked for hours that evening, eventually making their way into North's workshop and up to the room Jack stayed in as it got dark outside. Both had been staying at the North Pole, since they lacked a sanctuary of their own like the ones Tooth and Bunnymund had. But the factory was like a palace, with a sprawling east wing only for living quarters, so there was plenty of room. Besides, North would never deny a fellow guardian a roof to sleep under.

They sat by the window in Jack's room, talking about this and that, from silly little things like how North was somehow able to tell all his elves apart to Jamie's continuing search for his centre – his purpose as a guardian. 

"I wish I could figure it out," he mused, while his eyes traced the patterns of constellations in the dark sky.

"I know. Believe me," said Jack, laying a hand on top of Jamie's as an instinctual gesture of comfort. He pulled it away though, once both boys registered the act and their eyes met. Jack could feel his cheeks getting cold, and he tried to clear his head of any and all implications the act may have contained before frost started gathering on his cheeks. He cleared his throat and followed Jamie in gazing out the window.

"I remember trying to figure it out myself. You should have seen the interrogation North gave me right after the Man in the Moon picked me. None of us could figure it out."

"I wish I could have helped you more back then," Jamie said, throwing a shy smile in Jack's direction. "If you had asked me, maybe I could have. I mean, the first thing I remember whenever I think back to meeting you is all the fun we had. Not Pitch, not the nightmares, not anything bad that happened. I remember the fun most of all."

Jack looked at Jamie with a wide, sincere smile of gratitude gracing his features. Where would he be without this kid? Jack didn't really like to think about it. He felt horribly selfish thinking this way, but sometimes the winter spirit was glad he could have Jamie by his side forever now. At least if his friends and family could be convinced of his existence as a guardian, they could see him too and he could still be in their lives. Perhaps this would work out well for everyone – Jack could only hope. But he could never complain about the idea of having Jamie with him for the rest of their immortal lives.

Looking out into the sky as he contemplated, Jack caught sight of a bright spot of light in the corner of his eye. He followed it, and a glowing meteor appeared in his field of vision. He turned to Jamie and pointed to the falling star.

"Look at that. Right above Sagittarius."

Jamie looked, and smiled when he saw the star in question.

"A falling star! You can wish on that, you know. Since you saw it."

Jack had heard of this tradition, but had never thought much about it. He took a moment to consider it.

"Hmm. I can't really think of anything I could wish for, honestly."

"Really? I always figured everyone had something they could wish for."

Jack laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as their eyes met.

"I really don't know anything. I mean, I guess I could wish for a new sweater, since this one's getting old and there's a rip in one of the pockets, but that's pretty stupid." 

He hesitated before he continued, willing himself to not look away from Jamie.

"The only really important thing I want right now is...well, for you to be happy. Considering everything."

Jack was quite sure he heard Jamie giggle softly as he bowed his head, a hint of a chartreuse hue beginning to decorate his cheeks.

"Then I guess you don't need to wish on the star for anything."

"What do you mean?"

"I...I'm always happy. When I'm with you."

If it was possible for Jack Frost to feel warm, this was one of the moments when he did. Something swelled inside him, extinguishing any and all feelings he'd ever had about being an outcast, about being unappreciated and unseen. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd been so touched simply by someone's words. Surely no other words would do this to him. He felt a nagging urge bubble up inside of him, a fervent desire to return the gift Jamie had just bestowed upon him. Lifting up a hand and trying his best to cease its trembling, Jack reached out and lifted Jamie's chin up, making the boy meet his eyes.

"Me too," he said, voice quivering much more than he would have liked. The summer spirit's newly green eyes widened, never breaking their contact with Jack's icy blue ones.

"Really?"

"Really. I have never been happier than I am when I'm with you."

Jamie's lips curved upwards slowly but surely, becoming one of the widest, most sincere smiles Jack had ever seen. The boy almost looked like might cry at any moment, eyes glassy and shimmering.

"You...I..." he squeaked out, having trouble forming a coherent string of words at the moment. "Jack, I, I..."

In that instant a foreign desire swept through Jack, and although he didn't comprehend it fully he knew he was powerless to stop it. There was something he needed to do. Right now. Leaning forward as if by instinct, Jack cupped Jamie's cheek in his left hand and tilted his head to the right as he bent forward. It happened quickly, Jamie never having time to fully register what was happening but never once feeling any hesitation regardless. And then the second their lips met, nothing even really mattered anymore.

Jack was cautious at first, just pressing his lips softly to Jamie's as he took in the movements the boy made and the sounds he uttered, trying to gauge a reaction. His heart seemed to skip a beat as he felt the other boy responding, a hand making its way to his side and holding on, and Jamie's lips pressing more firmly into his as the recipient of the kiss tilted his head in the same manner the giver had done.

Jack grew bolder with the positive reaction, his tongue ghosting over the boy's lips and making Jamie shiver with pleasure. When his lips parted the cold tongue slipped into his mouth, pressing against the summer guardian's warmer one and creating a surprising but altogether exhilarating sensation. 

How long the kiss lasted neither was sure, but once the two parted and their eyes fluttered open, it was as if the world had somehow shifted during that time. Jack and Jamie's eyes met, holding the other's gaze in a perfect silence devoid of awkwardness or shock. Jamie took a deep, slow breath, not even attempting to conceal the colour on his cheeks, which had now deepened to a bright spring green, like the season's first leaves. There was only one thing he wanted to – had to – say at that moment.

"Jack...I...I love you."

Jack had to admit that he had thought too soon earlier. There were words that could touch him ever more, and coming from Jamie, these were exactly such words. He reached out to grab Jamie's hand, this time with no hesitation.

"I love you too, Jamie." 

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Hehehehhh all the fluff...it's everywhere! Everywhere! I hope I didn't cause cavities for anyone. :D 

*Rovaniemi is a city in Finnish Lapland, right on the Arctic Circle (About 67°N latitude). I just had to give a shoutout to my home country! ;) It's very cold here this time of year...Jack has been busy already this winter! Of course the mention of Scandinavia is also for sentimental reasons, as well as the choice of tree – when I was little, I lived for a while in a town in metro Helsinki called Pihlajamäki, literally "Rowan Hill". There were a lot of rowan trees there, and I remember them as a part of my childhood.


	5. Chapter 5

This time it was Jack who found Jamie. Although in hindsight, North's enormous library, filled with volumes of works from decades past and present – from Dickens to Tolkien to astrophysics – should have been the first place he looked. He found the boy that evening somewhere past the cookbooks, in what looked like the botany section, poring over a book titled "Flowering Trees of the Eurasian Continent".

Jack thought perhaps he could sneak up to Jamie and surprise him, since he was the guardian of fun and was never above a good prank, but Jamie turned his head and smiled at Jack before he got within a couple of meters of him. Apparently ever since Jamie gained the ability to see Jack in the first place, he saw and otherwise sensed his presence better than anyone else. Jack's heart fluttered just a bit at the thought, but he kept his figurative cool as he approached the boy and looked over his shoulder at the book in his hands.

"Whatcha got there?" he asked, hands grasping onto Jamie's shoulders as he craned his neck to look.

"It's about trees and flowers...I figure I need to read up on them if they're going to be my responsibility! I was only going to read one book, but this is actually really interesting, and North's got a bigger library than anyone I've ever seen. There's so many things I still want to read."

The summer spirit gestured towards a pile of books near his feet, and Jack looked, seeing quite a few tomes dedicated to the flora of both the northern and southern hemispheres.

"I think I'm going to really like seeing the cherry trees in Asia. Did you know that there are nine different species of cherry trees?"

Jack smiled, always taken aback and impressed by Jamie's love of knowledge. He was doing so well at his job too, having thrown himself wholeheartedly into being the bringer of summer and promising to do his best to make the season live up to the world's expectations every time it came around. Jamie was so selfless, Jack thought to himself, unlike he had been when he was first presented with the idea of being a guardian. He'd needed convincing before he grew to like the idea, whereas Jamie seemed beside himself with excitement when reality sunk in and he was able to experience his new task firsthand.

Coincidentally, or perhaps not so coincidentally after all, Jamie had been the one to really turn Jack's thoughts around seven years ago. After this one child had seen him, believed in him, befriended him, Jack had changed his perspective on life. It was incredible to be seen, to finally have what he'd been wishing for for three centuries come true, but it also wasn't just about him anymore at that moment. He'd seen the amazement and delight in Jamie's eyes when his form first appeared to them, and had seen the same expression on the face of every subsequent believer. That night, it started to be about them. Jack began to want to really help the children, to guard them, to find that expression of joy on their faces whenever they needed a good dose of fun in their lives. It had all started with Jamie. So, Jack concluded, it was no wonder that Jamie was one he ended up falling for.

"I didn't," the winter sprite mused, nuzzling Jamie's neck as he wrapped his arms around the boy's torso from behind. "Did you know that no two snowflakes are ever exactly alike?"

"Of course," Jamie said, turning in Jack's arms and draping his own loosely around the taller boy's neck. "They can't be. You're an artist."

Jack chuckled. "Hardly. I just don't have a mould for those things."

"Well I think you're an artist." Jamie said, laying "Flowering Trees of the Eurasian Continent" on top of his pile of books and returning his hands to where they were.

Jack gazed contentedly at the smiling boy in his arms, feeling the urge to kiss those soft, summery lips returning to him. This time Jamie was one step ahead of his though, and before Jack could act upon his urge he already felt those lips against his. He sighed, leaning into the kiss. He was absolutely positive he could never tire of kissing Jamie if it felt this good.

His tongue darted out his mouth to flick at Jamie's lips again, slipping in between them once allowed access and once again experiencing more warmth than Jack could bear to remember. Jamie's little gasps and barely audible moans as Jack's mouth angled perfectly over his were like music. They kept coming as the guardian's cold hands grasped Jamie's bare skin where his shirt had ridden up a few centimeters, and the situation grew steadily more heated with the moments, both literally and figuratively. Jack's head was spinning, and the boy pressing against him was radiating heat, making the contrast between them all the more apparent but somehow never uninviting.

As they pulled apart, Jamie shivered slightly, though the look of contentment never left his face. On the contrary, he only seemed to want to be ever closer to Jack.

"Am I making you cold?" the winter spirit asked, hesitating for a moment as he pondered letting the hand on Jamie's waist drift lower.

"Nah," said the boy sincerely. "I promise. I shivered because I've never felt this way before." 

"You sure?" Jack could say the exact same thing, but he really wanted to be sure Jamie wasn't experiencing anything unpleasant.

"I'm sure. I really don't think you can make summer cold." he said simply, and the logic was so wonderful that Jack had to accept it with a nod.

"Maybe we should get out of the library though...not sure how we would explain this if someone were to pop in and see us."

Jack considered this. Admittedly their position, language and expressions were far less than platonic, perfect for stopping an unsuspecting onlooker in their tracks. Jamie added to that by saying,

"And I think the others might start to catch on soon...at least if the elves or yetis are the type who can't keep secrets. The other day when I left your room late because I was going on about the mulberry trees in Spain and it was dark already, I ran into a yeti who was being followed by a couple of elves. They were arguing with him, and I hoped that maybe they'd be too distracted to notice, but they did see me and it was kind of an awkward moment because it was pretty obvious I'd just come from your room."

Jack laughed. "Well, the yetis might keep quiet. They don't seem like the types to pry into other's business. The elves I really can't get a handle on one way or the other, but somehow I just can't bring myself to be intimidated anyway. But you're right, I guess we should get out of here."

Grinning, Jack motioned for Jamie to follow him, and he led the boy through a side door into a hall that Jamie hadn't seen before. He wasn't surprised; North's workshop was huge and Jack had had a lot longer than him to explore it. The winter guardian led the summer one towards his room, where they had grown accustomed to spending time together. One of his hands slipped into his hoodie's pocket as they walked, and, forgetting the hole there, a finger poked through the ripped bottom seam.

"Ugh," Jack sighed, looking down at the widening rip. "Maybe I should wish for a new sweater. There's only six months until Christmas, anyway..." he added, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Jamie was quiet for a moment, seeming to ponder something, but then he spoke up.

"Uh, I...I might be able to fix that. I had to take Home Ec in school and I got kinda good at sewing. I just never really told anyone, so don't spread that around too much."

Jack's eyes widened a bit and he smiled at Jamie, who seemed to have an endless array of talents that Jack wasn't sure he would ever be able to exhaust.

"That'd be awesome. I am kind of fond of this sweater."

This new revelation soon found the two boys sitting in Jack's room, Jamie having fetched a sewing kit from the workshop on the way. Jack sat on a chair watching Jamie, who sat on the frost sprite's bed and threaded a needle with blue thread. Upon doing so, the boy realized fully for the first time that Jack's sweater was going to need to come off if it was to be mended. He blushed a faint shade of spring green. Did Jack wear anything under his sweater? Deciding that he wasn't about to turn back on his offer, Jamie turned to Jack and willed himself to keep eye contact.

"Uh, I'm gonna, uh...need you to take your sweater off...you know...easier that way..."

The weight of the situation seemed to be mild surprise to Jack as well – them, alone in a bedroom in the darkening evening, himself about to be half naked – but no matter how he phrased it in his head, nothing about the situation seemed bad in Jack's opinion. So off the sweater came, Jamie staring a little too long as he took it, seeing that Jack indeed did not wear anything under the blue hoodie. Warmth was not a factor that a winter spirit needed to consider when selecting his clothing, anyway.

Jamie's head swam as he stitched up the rip in the sweater's pocket, fully realizing that in the seven years he'd known Jack, he'd never actually seen him shirtless. It was understandable, since Jack most often visited in winter, when both men and women were more bundled up and no one went swimming. Try as he might to stop, Jamie kept catching himself stealing glances at the older boy's bare chest, which was the same inviting blueish pale colour as his hands, face and feet. It was slim but not unattractively so, not very muscular but with noticeable curves defining the muscles of the arms, sharp, angular collarbones and slight lines distinguishing the pectoral muscles.

Jamie realized he was failing miserably to focus his attention on only the sweater, this realization crystallizing when he felt a sharp jab at his left index finger. He immediately jerked his left hand away from the fabric, shaking it reflexively in the air before bringing it to his lips to suck at the tiny wound. Jack, who wasn't oblivious and had realized Jamie was staring but had no desire to tell him not to, flew over to him and kneeled in front of the bed where the boy sat.

Acting on a rush of impulsivity no doubt fuelled by a burgeoning lust, Jack reached out to pull Jamie's finger from his mouth. He took it, and Jamie blinked with confusion, which melted into a rush of warmth somewhere inside him as Jack slipped the digit between his own lips. Jamie's breathing became deep, eyes fixated on the icy greyish blue ones in front of him as a cold but not unpleasant wetness surrounded the tip of his finger. It lasted several seconds but Jamie would have sworn it lasted much longer with how many times his heart had managed to beat during that time.

"Jack..." he whispered, voice quaking more than he'd hoped. 

"Sorry," Jack uttered, the tone of his voice echoing Jamie's, breathier than usual and each syllable seeming to reverberate in his throat. "You're just hard to resist, you know."

"D-dont worry..." Jamie said, feeling his face start to heat up. "...I liked it. Don't stop...if you don't want to."

Something flashed in Jack's eyes, and he stood up, taking the sweater, thread and needle from Jamie's lap and setting it aside on the floor before climbing up onto his bed next to the boy. Sparing not a second, his bare arms wrapped around Jamie's torso and his lips captured the other's, showing no sign of hesitation this time around. Jamie scarcely had time to think, but he found that he didn't need to – all he needed to do was let go and do what his instincts told him to. And indeed, Jack brought out the wilder of these instincts.

Jamie shifted, moving to straddle Jack's lap and bringing their lips back together as soon as possible. One hand wandered up into Jack's choppy silverish white locks, grasping them and pulling the frost sprite as physically close to him as was possible. For right now that's what he needed, he needed to be as close to Jack as he could. Jamie wasn't sure when something in the air had shifted, but at some point it had, and there was nothing else he could imagine doing at that moment. The other boy's thoughts seemed to linger in the same area, as Jack was showing no intention of letting Jamie go anytime soon.

Jamie didn't know if he wanted to be hotter or colder, if his shirt was too tight or too loose or just too itchy, or if his pants had somehow shrunken a size in last several minutes, but he knew that he was wearing too many clothes at the moment. When his lips left Jack's, Jamie's hands immediately went to the hem of his shirt, starting to pull it up and over his head. Jack wouldn't have had time to protest, even if he had wanted to. The shirt soon landed near Jack's half mended sweater on the floor, and wow – he had never felt anything like the sensation of his bare skin against Jack's. It was a curiously wonderful mix of warm and cold, of winter and summer. Jamie found that he couldn't get enough, and his hands quickly found themselves on Jack's shoulder and waist.

"What are we doing?" Jack asked, eyes half lidded and lips curved into a slight but sensual smile.

"I don't know...but...we can keep going if you want."

Jack grinned the type of grin that made knees go weak – at least on his part, Jamie knew.

"I like that answer."

Jamie felt chilly trails drift down his torso as Jack's fingers wandered to the waistband of his pants, landing on the buttons of the fly. He made no move to stop the winter spirit as he undid the buttons, then pulled the garment down to Jamie's knees.

"May I?" Jack breathed out, eyes aiming at the only thing Jamie was still wearing, a pair of green underpants.

"Yes..." Jamie said, having long ago released any hesitation he may have been harbouring,

So Jack did, tossing the garment to the floor to be forgotten and paying attention only to the bare body in front of him. Understandably a new experience for the summer guardian, he felt his face start to burn up as he tried to push away any insecurities. No one had ever seen him naked, not like this anyway. Perhaps Jack sensed this, because his eyes softened and he planted a tender kiss on Jamie's forehead, trailing subsequent kisses down his face, over his nose, cheeks, mouth, chin.

"Don't you dare worry about how you look," he said. "You're perfect."

Jamie opened his mouth to reply but his voice just cracked, unable to completely process the welling of emotion inside him and put into words. He gaped for a few moments, willing the words out but only managing a quivering but sincere,

"...I love you."

Jack smiled widely, not even close to tired of hearing those words.

"I love you too." 

As if to prove the point, Jack dropped down to kneel on the floor in between Jamie's legs, which were hanging over the edge of the bed. His lips soon found Jamie's right collarbone, placing a kiss there and following that with one on his chest. He continued to trail kisses and small nips down the boy's body, eventually landing at his lower stomach, right at the edge of the patch of wiry brown hair. Jamie's entire body quivered, his mind comprehending the course of action Jack was embarking upon but not quite allowing himself to believe it. His disbelief was rightfully dashed though, as the guardian of fun placed his lips at the tip of Jamie's erection, one hand slipping up to wrap around the shaft.

Jamie mumbled incoherent words punctuated by gasps and pleasured groans as those lips descended further, taking in what the fingers weren't covering. As Jack started up a rhythm, head bobbing up and down in time with his fist, Jamie lost himself to a tidal wave of new sensations that he couldn't put into words if he read a million books and memorized them all. His hand, seemingly acting of its own will, shot up to weave into Jack's hair once more, and he shivered with the utmost of pleasures whenever the frost sprite's icy eyes peeked upwards to meet his own. Despite their possessor being the embodiment of coldness, those eyes seemed to glow with fire.

Then, just as Jamie was beginning to feel something tightening in the pit of his stomach, Jack pulled away, a small 'pop' hanging in the air as his lips slipped over the tip of Jamie's cock.

"Unnhhhh..." Jamie groaned, panting and wondering why Jack had stopped. 

Seeing his confusion, Jack pulled himself back up onto the bed and laid a small peck onto Jamie's lips, looking at him with a wicked grin.

"Not yet," he said, gently grasping onto Jamie's shoulders and pulling him down onto the bed.

A sudden thought occurred to Jamie, and his lips curved up into a similar smile and he giggled.

"What?" Jack asked, eyes full of mirth as he pinned Jamie down to his bed.

"I guess it's appropriate, you know...since summer doesn't come before winter."

Jack laughed, catching onto Jamie's uncharacteristically naughty double meaning. Two could play this game.

"Well, that depends on how you look at it...June comes after January, but before December. I guess winter's just all over."

And for the answer Jamie gave to that, Jack would never be able to find a comparable retort. 

"Hmm. I guess you're right. But I don't care if winter's all over...as long as it's all over me."

So, lacking the words to show just how much he loved that answer, Jack relied on actions instead. He held two fingers up to Jamie's mouth as he hovered over him, one knee on either side of Jamie's hips. Echoing the act that had set the entire thing in motion, Jamie took the fingers into his mouth, running his tongue around the digits and making them slick with saliva. Jack then sat up, pushing Jamie's knees up into the air and bringing his hands from the boy's mouth to the crux of his legs. He looked at Jamie with hooded, misty eyes.

"So...you're sure about this? Because if you don't stop me now, I really doubt I'll be able to resist."

"Absolutely. Yes. Please, Jack." his expression was sincere, almost pleading from desire.

With no hesitation left, Jack slipped one of his fingers down and pressed it against Jamie's opening, pushing it in slowly to allow the boy time to adjust. Jamie whimpered a bit at the utter newness of the feeling, but once he got accustomed to it, it wasn't even uncomfortable. Seeing his face relax, Jack let a second finger join the first one, moving the digits in a scissoring motion to loosen the tight muscle. The addition of a third finger was enough for Jack to deem Jamie ready.

Remembering something, Jack pulled away momentarily and leaned over the edge of the bed, head almost hitting the floor as he reached underneath the bed frame with one hand. Jamie watched curiously, seeing Jack pull a small cardboard box out and open it. Inside was, among other things, a bottle of lotion which the winter spirit opened and dispensed into his hand. Tossing the bottle aside, Jack went back to Jamie, dividing the lotion between his hands. One hand returned to Jamie's rear, and the other took a hold of its owner's own cock, drawing a deep groan of anticipation from both boys as the surfaces were slicked with the cool lotion.

With the figurative fire in the pit of his stomach blazing, Jack couldn't wait any longer. He grasped Jamie's slim hips, and the summer spirit caught on quickly, turning over onto his stomach and raising up onto his knees, head cradled by his arms on the pillow. He looked back over his shoulder at Jack, giving him a smile so real and trusting that Jack knew he could continue. He knew Jamie wanted this, and damn, did he want it too.

Placing one hand on Jamie's hip, Jack took his member in the other and positioned it where it needed to be. Giving Jamie's hip a quick squeeze, he pushed forward and the head breached the tight ring of muscle, which eventually gave way as Jack carefully pushed on. Jamie whimpered and moaned into the pillow, grasping onto it tightly with his fingers. 

"Shh. Relax. You've gotta relax, Jamie. I promise it won't hurt for long."

Trying his best to do as Jack said, Jamie took a deep breath and tried to release any tension in his muscles, allowing Jack to continue more easily. Soon he was able to, pushing in to the hilt and stopping there to allow Jamie to adjust to the intrusion. It took all of Jack's willpower to stay still and not thrust into the boy right away, having been hit with an onslaught of tightness and warmth and softness and wow, just wow as he entered.

As the pain ebbed away, Jamie was left with a curious but surprisingly inviting sense of fullness, and he couldn't help bucking his hips against Jack the smallest bit, testing the waters and encouraging his guardian to continue. Jack picked up on the hint and was more than happy to oblige, grasping onto both of Jamie's hips and pulling out halfway, then slipping back in. He repeated this motion, getting used to it himself and trying to find a rhythm. Jamie was gasping with pleasure beneath him, building Jack's desire and adding fire to his movements, which grew faster and stronger in time.

It was like nothing he had ever felt...no hand could ever hold a candle to real thing. Judging by the noises escaping Jamie's lips, he was on the same page. And damn did he look amazing there, cheek pressed into Jack's pillow, face all flushed with lovely green hues, oak leaves and haphazard brown locks falling into his eyes which looked up through the longest, most incredible eyelashes Jack had ever seen. When Jamie shook with delight and bit his lower lip in pleasure as Jack's cock hit a spot inside him that made him see stars, Jack decided that he needed to see that face close up. He needed to look into those amazing, lush, summery green eyes as he came.

So he quickly manoeuvred them into a new position, setting Jamie on his lap as his own legs bent at the knee and cradled him there, pressing their chests together. Jamie gasped, feeling Jack's hands clutch at his backside as that spot inside of him was hit again, ever harder than before. He let out a keening moan, which broke into an utterance of Jack's name. The winter sprite's vocalizations were similar, calling out Jamie's name in between pants and groans as the boy bounced on top of him, helped along by Jack's hands.

Jamie's arms draped over Jack's shoulders and his hands locked together, giving him leverage, and soon both boys found they couldn't hold out much longer. Jack balanced himself with one hand, reaching up with the other and wrapping his fingers around Jamie's member. He stroked it furiously, wanting to help the boy who was letting him experience this pleasure to have his rightful share as well. His attempts weren't for naught, as Jamie soon found himself grasping tightly onto Jack and squeezing his eyes closed as he climaxed, little white rivulets splattering over both his and Jack's chests. Seeing his lover reach his peak was enough to hurry Jack on as well, and it took just a few more thrusts to have Jack seeing white behind his eyelids as he released inside of Jamie. 

The next several moments were for recovering, both eternals clutching the other as their breaths steadied and their heads cleared. Soon the pair fell onto their sides on top of the bed, Jack slipping out of Jamie and instead wrapping his arms around the other's body. Something brushed up against his back, and he looked around, finding ivy vines sprouting from the bedsheets where Jamie had grasped them earlier, and curling over the side of the mattress. Jack chuckled as his eyes followed them.

"Nice work here, Green James. Any Ivy League building would be honoured to have these decorating them." 

Jack's said this with a wide smile, making it clear that although his tone was teasing, he truly was impressed. Jamie blushed, clutching onto the sheets again.

"Thanks, Jack. I would compliment your snowball making skills but I think we've covered that. I guess I should tell you that your skills in other areas aren't lacking either, though."

Realizing that the statement had sounded even racier out loud than it had in his head, Jamie shyly hid his face in the pillow, allowing only a bit of his wide grin to be seen. Jack beamed at him, obviously only appreciating the compliment. 

"You too, Jamie. Can't lie about that." 

Jamie felt his heart flutter, and he looked up at Jack again. 

"You really make me happy, Jack." he said simply, because that summed up everything he was feeling at the moment and was nothing but the truth.

"Well then, my wish has most certainly been granted."

It took a few moments for the information to piece itself together in Jamie's head, but when it did in the form of a revelation, Jamie shot up and grabbed Jack's shoulders, looking at him with excitement.

"That's it! That's my centre!" he cried out.

"What is?"

"Wishes! That's what I'm here to guard for the children! Think about it! Wonder, hope, dreams, memories, fun...doesn't wishes make sense?! Summer is a time for wishes, for enchantment, for looking up and finding shooting stars and tossing pennies into fountains! I've already granted two wishes, the first being Charlotte's, and the second being yours. I can't believe it!!"

Jack pondered this for a moment, then a wide grin broke out on his face, filled with pride.

"You're so right, Jamie." he said, grabbing onto Jamie's hand and interlacing their fingers.

They laid there for the rest of the night, talking at first but eventually falling asleep in a mess of tangled limbs and temperatures, knowing that this night was theirs and theirs alone.


	6. Chapter 6

The next several days held a sense of unbelievability for both Jack and Jamie, even more so than usual. Jamie had thought to describe the feeling as "walking on clouds", which appropriately enough was true both figuratively and literally these days. He and Jack had gone flying together quite often, as the winter spirit had taken it upon himself to teach the new guardian the best, most thrilling and most sure techniques in the art of riding the winds. He still felt protective of Jamie, which compelled him to help, but Jack could never deny that he also loved the feeling of soaring through the skies with the guardian of wishes.

Jamie was quite sure he could manage alone if he needed to, but why would he pass up the opportunity to have Jack by his side, holding his hand in the air, or even flying above him with an arm wrapped around his torso? It was an incredible experience, a feeling of closeness and exhilaration coursing through him as they gazed down at the world together.  
  
Coming together in the way they had that night in Jack's room had brought the boys even closer, and even when they weren't physically together due to their respective season-spreading duties, they kept the other close in their minds. Then they would always find the time later to steal a kiss, a fleeting touch of a hand or even just a meaningful look. They knew that, being eternals, they had the rest of time to spend together and shouldn't rush it. But as many could tell you, the thrill one feels while in the proverbial honeymoon stage of a relationship is hard to fight.

They supposed that the other guardians would tell them this should they find out what what going on, since they couldn't risk a romantic relationship, especially a failed one, ruining an important business relationship. Jack and Jamie swore to each other that they would do everything they could to make sure the relationship did not fail, but they still planned to keep it a secret for at least some time longer. At some point it was inevitable that their fellow guardians would find out, considering the fact that the group had naught but five members, all having given an oath to follow the same path for the rest of eternity. Things did get around, especially when you lived in a house full of tiny, jingling, possible tattletales. If one of the elves did blab, they would deal with it, and cross that bridge when it appeared before them. But for the time being the two boys restricted their kisses and any other shows of affection to bedrooms and the occasional dark hallway or deserted library stack.

That day was one of the days when Jack and Jamie found themselves on opposite ends of the planet, in South America and New Zealand. They didn't see each other until the next afternoon, when they both returned to the North Pole. Jamie could hardly contain his excitement at the prospect of what he had to show to Jack this time – it was another plant, yes, but this time Jamie had big plans for that little flower. If he succeeded in doing what he planned, this discovery might bring him one step closer to winning his mother's belief in him.

Jamie could clearly remember the last time he had returned home to work on convincing Mrs. Bennett that Sophie had been telling the truth about her brother. He had planned carefully with Sophie and coordinated a time when he and Jack could visit Burgess together. His sister had called their mother into her room to help her with her homework, and had pretended to suddenly have to use the toilet in order to leave the room, leaving Mrs. Bennett alone.

In reality Sophie had gone to give a signal to Jack and Jamie, who were hiding outside the girl's window. The window had purposely been left slightly ajar, giving Jamie room to make a vine appear from outside and creep into the room. Meanwhile, Sophie stood outside and set off a firework that had been left over from New Year's Eve, catching her mother's attention and making her look towards the window right as the vine was growing and Jack was also painting the windowpane with beautiful, lacy patterns of frost. The Bennetts had gotten a notice from the city for setting off a firework out of season, but it had been worth it, because Mrs. Bennett still could not figure out exactly what had caused the vine and frost to appear and was still trying to find an explanation. She was somewhat convinced that it was a prank someone had somehow pulled, but Sophie could see her mother's disbelief in the unexplainable start to crack. Perhaps one more clue would do it.

So when Jack met Jamie in the latter's room after returning from Oceania, the summer spirit practically pounced on him with an exotic looking red blossom in his hand.

"Whoa, Jamie!" he said, chuckling. "What's up?"

Jamie shoved the flower in front of Jack, beaming.

"Aww, babe, you shouldn't have!" the white-haired boy said with a coy smile that insinuated he knew the bloom wasn't a gift for him, but presented the perfect opportunity to tease his boyfriend. "But I can't promise I won't freeze it."

Jamie rolled his eyes playfully.

"Well, actually, it's not for you...but I can show you where it came from sometimes, it's unbelievable around there. This is for my Mom. I think it might help her finally believe in me if I give it to her! It's a scarlet passion flower, endemic to Ecuador. If I give this to Sophie to give to her as a gift, she'll probably look up what flower it is and find out that they don't grow anywhere even close to nearby, and she'll wonder where Sophie got it. Maybe then she'll believe that I actually went to Ecuador to get it!"

"That's an awesome idea, Jamie. When are you gonna do it?"

Jack asked, genuinely impressed by the boy's plan. Jamie had played a large part in planning the vine-and-frost-at-the-window scene as well, and was often trying to think of more ideas. Jack understood perfectly what fuelled his drive to do so...after all, nobody knew better than he did how it felt to be unseen, particularly by someone who you care about.

"I was thinking tomorrow, since I don't have anywhere to go until later, and even then it's Iceland so it's close by. Did you want to come?"

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The next day then found the two guardians flying towards Burgess, descending upon the elementary school right around the time the students were exiting the building for recess. Jamie spotted his sister walking towards the swing set with Charlotte and an auburn haired boy who Jamie recognized as a new student.

The boy's name was Kevin, and Jamie had personally introduced him to Sophie and Charlotte about a week ago – well, he was quite sure he hadn't actually been seen, but he certainly had played a part in the children meeting each other. He hadn't seen Kevin until a couple of weeks ago, so Jamie was sure he was a new student. Kevin had been sitting alone at recess, apparently too shy to introduce himself to others, and Jamie had quickly formulated a plan to help both Kevin and the girls.

The following day, Jamie had dropped by the school again and hid in the greenery on the edge of the playground, after making it just a bit thicker to be on the safe side. He saw his chance when Kevin approached the monkey bars at the same time as Sophie and Charlotte, but from a different direction. He sent a tree root shooting out towards Kevin's feet, effectively tripping him and causing him to stumble forward into the sand (he had made sure that there was little chance of the child getting hurt first, of course). Sophie and Charlotte saw him trip, and rushed over to see if he was alright. Upon confirming that he was, the girls had invited Kevin to play on the monkey bars with them, starting a new friendship.

Jamie smiled now as he watched all three of them walking to the swing set together, happy to have helped the children make friends. He nudged Jack and pointed in their direction, and both eternals made their way into the bushes near the swing set. Being seen wouldn't have been a bad thing usually of course, but in this particular case the matter was private.

"Psst!" Jamie called from his hiding spot, alerting the children's sharp ears to his and Jack's presence. All three little heads turned in their direction.

"Jamie!" Sophie exclaimed in a fairly loud whisper, rushing over to her brother with Charlotte at her side. Charlotte turned as she ran and gestured to Kevin to follow as well, which he did at the girls' insistence.

Jamie soon found his sister's arms wrapped tightly around his midsection, and he gladly returned the hug. Jack had stood up as well to accept Charlotte's greeting. Sophie then turned to Kevin and extended an arm out towards him, directing Jamie's attention that way.

"Jamie, this is Kevin. He's new here, we met last week...kind of funny really, had something to do with a tree root."

Sophie glanced back at her brother with raised eyebrows and a knowing, sly smile. Jamie returned her smile, not surprised that she had figured out he'd been involved. Sophie was quite intuitive, especially when it came to her big brother, apparently.

"He just moved here from Michigan. He's in fifth grade, but I guess he doesn't mind hanging out with fourth grade girls!"

She grinned at Kevin, who smiled shyly and finally approached the figure who Sophie had been talking to. Obviously he could see Jamie, and it looked like could see Jack as well.

"Kevin, this is Green James, the spirit of summer!" Sophie said to her friend. "Although I've always known him as just Jamie...my big brother."

"And this is Jack Frost!" Charlotte's voice piped up, the girl gesturing toward the frost sprite. "He knows it's summer, but he kind of follows Jamie around sometimes. Right, Jack?"

Charlotte and Sophie grinned and giggled, causing a blue flush and a light coating of powdery frost to paint Jack's pale cheeks. Kevin seemed to pay no heed to this though, still just getting over the fact that he was seeing two real live guardians before him – not to mention guardians who knew his two new friends!

"Wow..." he said, studying the two legendary figures. He seemed to be somewhat entranced for several moments, but his boyish spirit won out in the end and he exploded with excitement.

"This is amazing! I can't believe I'm really seeing this! I knew you were real though, I always did! Sophie, Charlotte, I can't believe you know them personally! And Sophie, you were telling the truth, Green James is really your brother! Oh my gosh..."

Jack and Jamie smiled. Seeing children react like this upon first meeting them was always heartwarming. When Kevin calmed down though, Jamie turned his attention to the reason they had come to see Sophie today. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the scarlet passion flower, holding it out and earning "oohs!" and "aahs!" from the children.

"Sophie, the reason we came today – other than to see you again – is that I have a task for you, if you'll accept it."

"What is it?"

"Well, you see this flower? It's called a scarlet passion flower. The reason you probably haven't seen one before is that they only grow in Ecuador, in South America. I was there yesterday, and I picked this. I thought that if you gave it to Mom, she might finally believe what you've told her about me."

Sophie jumped up and down in excitement, taking the flower and holding it carefully so as to not crush it.

"Definitely! I'll give it her tonight! Thanks, Jamie!"

Sophie handed the flower to Charlotte to hold as she gave her brother a tight hug. Then amidst promises and heartfelt goodbyes, Jamie and Jack flew off, leaving the scarlet passion flower in good hands.

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That evening, Mrs. Bennett entered the house around six o'clock after work, setting her handbag on the kitchen table. Her feet, having done this thousands of times before, instinctively started to turn to lead the woman towards the staircase and her bedroom. But this day, something caught her attention mid-turn. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something bright red on the living room table which definitely hadn't been there when she'd left that morning.

She rerouted towards the living room, finding the red flower sitting in a vase on the coffee table with a note in front of it. The note was written in a child's handwriting, and read:

"For Mom. This is a scarlett pash passion flower. It's from Equ Ecuador (In South America). Love, your son."

Mrs. Bennett narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow, recognizing her daughter's handwriting. The message was odd though...and the flower, though gorgeous, was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Curious, she abandoned her regular post-work routine and made her way to the computer to look up scarlet passion flowers.

It seemed that Sophie, or whoever had written the note, had been correct. The flower did indeed look like a scarlet passion flower, and that species was endemic to Ecuador. Puzzled, Mrs. Bennett pondered the situation. Where could Sophie have gotten such a flower? If some specialty flower shop had them in stock, they surely would have cost more than Sophie's lunch money could cover. She had a hard time believing her nine year old daughter could have come upon this flower easily.

The note had been signed "Love, your son" though. Was Sophie still caught up on the idea of Jamie being some kind of spirit? What did she call him? Guardian. The woman furrowed her brow in thought. Could it actually be true? Everything sensible in her wanted to scream no, that it was just some fantasy the little girl can cooked up to comfort her as she mourned her brother. But she had been so insistent, constantly trying to convince her mother that she wasn't just imagining it. And there had been that strange thing with the vines and frost on the window. Hadn't there been some freak storm seven years ago as well, with people talking about black clouds and golden sand? Could it all be because of the same thing? She tried her best not to believe it.

Suddenly, a sound outside caught Mrs. Bennett's attention and she turned her head in the direction it had come from. Walking towards the large window in the living room, she squinted her eyes and looked outside. Out of nowhere seemed to appear a greenish dot on the horizon, one that she could have sworn had arms and legs. Going closer, the woman stared as the dot grew smaller and smaller before finally disappearing. A few moments of silence passed. The woman's eyes slowly widened, mouth hanging open just a bit as she gazed outside. And up at the top of the staircase, clinging to the banister as she kneeled and peered through the fence posts at her mother, a little girl smiled.

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On a cliff in the North Pole, Jack Frost and Green James sat side by side. Each held a partially eaten cookie, the baked goods being available at North's workshop year round. Upon finishing his, Jack wrapped an arm around Jamie's shoulders and planted a quick peck on his cheek.

"You really are the guardian of wishes, you know." he said, smiling at the blushing boy next to him.

Jamie took a final bite of cookie and laughed shyly. He turned toward Jack.

"I really do hope I can live up to that title."

"You will. You already have, even. Look at how many lives you've already changed."

"You really think so?"

Jack leaned in towards Jamie, setting a hand on the back of the summer sprite's head and pulling him in as he closed his eyes. Jamie melted into the kiss, shifting to mould his body as well as he could against Jack's. They kissed lazily, unabashedly, abandoning their cares for that fleeting moment. Jamie's eyes shined when they pulled apart.

"Of course," Jack said, squeezing the other boy's hand. "Would I trick you?"

Jamie grinned. Jack would be Jack. But this time, he knew that the older boy was being sincere.

"Well, that depends on the situation. In this one, I hope not."

"Oh, are you suggesting that I'm ever less than a gentleman? Jamie, I'm crushed!"

"A gentleman? Hardly. But you know what? I like you that way."

"Do you now?"

"I do."

Icy blue-grey eyes filled with mirth met sparkling green ones. A mouth of pearl-white teeth curved into a smile.

"Really? Prove it."

And so that day, and many times again, Jamie did just that.

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And there we have it! A happy ending, as I promised. :)

Also, here is a visual depiction of Green James! Still just a fancy sketch, but for now it will do. I might draw him again one day, he is fun to draw!  
http://imprefectlin.deviantart.com/art/Green-James-and-Obligatory-JackXJamie-Kiss-345855066


	7. Bonus Chapter!

The first time Jamie saw his mother again, it was by complete chance. He'd been in Burgess to make the last of the strawberries in the farmer's fields ripen, and was just leaving, flying leisurely through the busy streets. He weaved past people and trees and mailboxes without a care in the world. Then he flew around a corner, looked ahead, and stopped short.

Mrs. Bennett's office was within walking distance of their house, as many locations in the small town were, and she was on her way home from work on foot. When she looked up, her eyes meeting the ones in front of her that were sparkling, otherworldly emerald green but still so obviously her son's, it was as if the entire world had turned inside out. She squinted, mouth agape, believing but still not entirely able to process the truth. Such could be expected, when one has seen so few fantastical things in one's life. Jamie knew this, and he tried to keep calm. He was as surprised as she was, particularly by the fact that she obviously could see him now, but he tried to keep his head as cool as the spirit of summer was able to.

Once his mother's resolve broke and she could no longer resist believing that Jamie was indeed in front of her, Jamie found a pair of of warm, slim arms wrapping around his torso and pulling him down to the earth. He descended, calmly returning his mother's embrace and smiling. Words were not needed yet. In this moment, both knew that this was all that was necessary.

When they broke apart, Jamie took his mother's hand and led her into an alleyway behind a row of shops. He had learned the hard way through his interactions with Jack over the years how odd one might look if they were hugging or talking to what appeared to be thin air. He supposed getting discovered standing in alleyway in a skirt suit and heels wasn't entirely normal either, but it beat the other option.

"Jamie...Jamie...oh my goodness, oh my goodness, Jamie..."

This was all that Mrs. Bennett seemed to be able to utter right then, still getting over the utter shock of seeing this being that was most definitely her son. Jamie didn't mind. He had waited a long time for this moment, and he wasn't going to rush through this reunion. He just smiled a comforting smile, trying to communicate to his mother that he was real, that he was here, and that everything was alright. Eventually, once Mrs. Bennett pulled herself together, her motherly instincts surfaced. She took a hold of Jamie firmly by his shoulders.

"James Daniel Bennett, how many times have I told you that driving up in those mountains is dangerous?!?"

She fit the entire sentence into a single breath, and then heaved a long sigh, clutching onto her son again in a fiercely protective manner. Tiny tears beaded up at the corners of her eyes now, and she wiped them away with the sleeve of her blazer.

"I'm sorry, Mom." is all Jamie could think of to say. 

He hoped that she would forgive him, but he needn't worry if the look on his mother's face was any indication. Right now it looked like all that mattered to her was knowing that her son was indeed alright.

"You've been watching over Sophie. Thank you for that," Mrs. Bennett said, earning a surprised smile from her son.

"How did you know?"

"It wasn't difficult. She kept talking about you. And I admit that I didn't believe her at first, but with all those strange things that kept happening, I knew something somewhere was up. But I am really, really glad she kept pestering me about it. She wanted you to make me happy too, like you've been making her. She made a new friend too because of you."

The woman stopped for a few moments, just looking at her son, with his greenish skin and eyes and wild hair and leaves, but just the same features and the same smile she remembered.

"You're a good brother, Jamie."

Jamie tried to fight back the tears welling up in his eyes now, but ended up having to wipe a few away once they won the battle.

"Thank you. I'll come visit all the time if you want. I still want to be in your lives."

"Of course I want you to visit. Sophie will love it as well. Though I think you've been seeing her often anyway!"

"True," said Jamie, his expression suddenly growing pained for a moment before he recovered and continued. "Um...have you heard from Dad lately? How's he doing?"

Mrs. Bennett heaved a quiet sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, he's making all his alimony payments on time, but I don't hear from him very often other than for that. He hasn't visited for a while, although I know Sophie misses him. He's been in Buffalo since he was here for your memorial service, and he hasn't been in touch much. I don't know, but I think he might be drinking again. Thought apparently he's keeping himself together since he's still working."

Jamie listened with a solemn expression on his face, having mostly expected this but still finding it hard to hear. What his mother said next made him feel a bit more hopeful.

"Maybe if you went to see him...if you can make him see you, you know, and I'm sure you can...he might feel better."

The guardian of wishes nodded, promising his mother that he would do just that. 

"Well, Jamie, I think I should get home to start dinner for your sister! But son...I can't tell you how good it feels to see you again. I just can't put it into words. You'll just have to believe me, and come back often...can you grant that wish for me?"

She looked at him with a knowing smile, no doubt having heard everything Sophie knew about Green James and his purpose. The spirit in question nodded enthusiastically, knowing that this was one wish he could definitely grant.

"I'll see you soon, Mom, I promise. Say hello to Sophie for me...I've got to get going, I'm meeting Jack at the North Pole soon."

"Jack?"

"Jack Frost. You might want to keep an eye out this winter...he's promised Burgess a good one this year!"

"Oh, wonderful, so you're friends? I remember as a little boy you were so enamoured with Jack Frost and all those mythical beings."

Jamie felt his face flush emerald, but tried his best to hide it by bowing his head.

"Um, we're...close." he squeaked, covering the lower half of his face with one hand and sneaking himself a smile. If only she knew exactly how close he and Jack were.

"That's great! I'd be happy to meet him, since you seem to like him so much." 

Jamie's blush grew darker. "I'll be sure to have him come by with me some time." he said.

"Great. I'll see you soon then, Jamie. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

And then Jamie flew off after waving to his mother and watching her turn to continue her journey home, his mind and heart flying as high as his body. He smiled, intent on enjoying this rare, perfect state of mind for as long as it was possible.

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That evening found Jamie sitting in a corner of North's vast library, only partially focusing on his book about summertime fruits as the object of his childhood – and current – affection hovered nearby. Jack was amusing himself by creating animals out of frost, as he had done that night when Jamie first saw him. He was currently shaping a fox out of the glittering frost he'd conjured, and soon the vixen was slinking around Jamie's legs, rubbing up against them like an affectionate cat. Its fluffy tail swished against Jamie's cheek, and he the boy laughed, finally giving up on studying.

"Okay, okay, I give. You have my full attention, Jack."

"Did I distract you? I'm sorry!" Jack said, though his true intent was betrayed by the grin on his face. Jamie playfully rolled his eyes, petting the frost fox as he stood up.

"You're impossible."

"Really? Well, unless I'm sorely mistaken, I believe I remember a certain guardian of wishes saying they liked me that way."

Of course, Jack was right. Jamie would never have him change, this was the man he had fallen in love with and he hoped that Jack would remain his mischievous, fun-loving, perfect self forever. But he also wasn't above teasing his boyfriend in return for being teased. So he gave the frost sprite's shoulder a playful punch, smirking as he bent down to pick up his books.

"Yeah, yeah."

Jack grinned, taking the action in stride and floating alongside Jamie, who walked as he carried his books out of the library. He looked at Jamie as they made their way down the hall, expression softening a bit in time. It made him happy to see the other so happy, a feeling that the summer spirit hadn't been able to hide as of late. 

"I still think it's so awesome that your mom finally saw you, Jamie. I'm really, really happy for you."

He meant it, and Jamie could tell by the sincerity shining through his eyes and smile. It touched him deeply, particularly since Jack had been by his side the entire time he and his sister had been trying to get Mrs. Bennett to believe.

"Thank you, Jack. Thank you for your help, thank you for everything."

"Don't even mention it. I couldn't not help. It's hard to watch someone suffer the same way you did once, especially when it's someone who you love."

Jamie felt heat prick at his cheeks at that statement. He smiled shyly, placing his books down onto the desk in his room, where they had arrived a few moments earlier. He looked up at Jack, who was smiling down at him from his seated position in the air.

"I love you too, Jack."

With that, Jamie stood on his tiptoes and gently placed his lips over Jack's, who responded gladly, straightening his body out in the air and wrapping his arms around Jamie's torso as the summer sprite slowly hovered upward himself. The kiss started somewhat chaste, lips lazily pressing against the the other's without a great amount of fervour, just enjoying the softness, texture and delightful contrast of temperatures. 

But restraint had never been Jack's strong point, and he soon gave into his desire to intensify the kiss, one hand clutching Jamie's back while the other drifted downwards. He angled his head, lips parting and moulding perfectly to Jamie's, which were warm and slightly chapped from the dry winter cold. Jamie sighed contentedly into the kiss, hooking his arms around the winter guardian's neck and holding him there with no intention of letting go any time soon. When they parted it was only by centimetres, and not for long. 

Jack's hand slipped down along Jamie's shoulder blades, tracing his spine and settling in the small of his back. Jamie uttered a small "Mmmhh," lips leaving Jack's own and instead latching onto his earlobe, something he had discovered was quite a dangerous thing to do if he didn't want to end up with his back against a mattress some time soon.

"Playing risky games there, James." Jack muttered, clutching the boy close.

"I'll take my chances," Jamie answered, eyes twinkling as they met Jack's.

Jack couldn't have asked for a better answer.


End file.
